Invaders from the Fifth Dimension
Our fearless family, minus Dr. Zachary Smith, continues with their epic struggle of survival in space. An alien observes the family from a remote location. An incoming object is picked up on radar and Judy Robinson alerts her mother Maureen who alerts Major Don West. Don checks out the radar and the object is gone. The ladies are made to look silly and chalk it all up to their eyes playing tricks on them. The object lands and Dr. Smith observes it from a rock over yonder. The object scans the terrain. The cowardly Smith runs off after exposure to a high pitched sound, but is halted in his tracks by the strange sound. Caught up in the beam an alien speaks in foreign tongue to Dr. Smith. The creature who lacks a mouth asks if he is “native” to the planet. The alien is luminous and only seems to possess a glowing head. Smith informs the creature he is not, but can take it to the Robinsons. As my son, the boy wonder pointed out, Smith “throws them under the bus.” The alien needs a humanoid brain and tells Smith his primitive brain will do. All he needs is a portion of it. Such a move normally spells death. Smith is transported instantly onto the alien probe vessel for examination. I love the simple effects back in the day when people were simply removed from the camera frame to convey the effect of teleportation. Smith tries to manipulate the situation by offering a small, “marvelous” brain in the form of Will Robinson. He asks that they allow him a chance to deliver the brain. They tell Smith he exhibits “treachery and cunning” as he tries to shoot his ray gun on them. They simply take his gun away. Perhaps they don't want Smith's brain. That's not the smartest move. Wisely, and somewhat unintentionally funny, the aliens allow Smith to get the smaller brain. Clearly a good decision. They beam him off the ship and back outside laying in the dirt. Why not just beam him out standing up? These aliens must have a sense of humor. He is given a metallic ball to guide him back to their ship. To ensure he does not cheat them they place a metallic band around his neck for control of their prey. Clearly their powers are limited in range otherwise they would simply beam whomever they'd like aboard their ship. Oddly, they have a much greater control of their victim via bracelet? It does appear to be slightly illogical. Will visits Robot who is acting as a “scarecrow” in the garden. Apparently there are birds on this alien planet. Alien birds of course, like those ostrich-like creatures spotted in Lost In Space, Season One, Episode 4, There Were Giants In The Earth. Smith approaches Robot and flinches in pain as his neck device flashes. More pain affects the evil Smith as he attempts to have Robot remove of it from his body. Smith approaches Penny Reobinson to lure her into his little plot. Since Will Robinson is unavailable, Penny will have to do. Don threatens Smith to stay away from the boy. “There is no hatred in my heart, only pity, sadness and pity.” He attempts a handshake and Don tells him to “just go." Professor John Robinson returns and he is notified of the radar blip. Speaking of blips, where is our alien monkey friend lately? John wants to know why Robot didn’t stop Will and he gets a nice, fresh ass response. “I am not programmed for babysitting.” Ouch. Okay. Well, maybe you'll be deprogrammed. Careful there big fella. I also loved the brief spat between John and Don. They are both friends, but uneasy partners who are at each other's throats from time to time. They are indeed two strong, alpha males. The family separates in search of Will who is out seeking mineral resources. Smith is nearby Will when the old paingiver goes off. Smith needs to bust a move and acquire Will for the aliens if he plans to survive. Smith begins to dramatically manipulate Will like a wounded animal ready for the kill. Smith informs Will that his family is in trouble by these alien invaders. An anxious Will inquires what they need to do to save them. Will suggests getting Don, but Smith frowns upon that idea. The element of surprise is the only option. Professor Robinson calls out from the loudspeaker of the Chariot as they search for their son. Smith continues to play young Will like a fiddle. I can’t understand why he wouldn’t respond to his father over the advice of the diabolical, scheming Smith. The Chariot crew cannot find them. Maureen spots the alien vessel and points to it. It immediately disappears and John does not see it. Her eyes playing tricks on her again no doubt. The aliens contemplate destroying the Chariot but a second alien voice cautions, “wait.” The distance that Chariot travels must pack on the miles. Will would have had to walk for miles based on the evidence of its travels here. How far did Will go? Will begins to come to his senses and reckons he should contact his folks. Yes, that's a safe bet. Hanging out with Dr. Smith is tantamount to being abducted by a stranger. Smith takes Will’s walkie talkie and throws it into some quick sand or something. Meanwhile John is out searching with his jet pack at this point with no results. After a time Will begins to catch on to Smith’s game and figures he is being duped. He still winds up apologizing to Smith for being suspicious of his behavior. Boy that Smith is good. He can turn the tables at the drop of a hat. Elsewhere, Robot determines an alien presence. Robot tells John and Maureen it is an “anti-human” presence. “Destroy now?” asks one alien to another. “Not yet.” As odd as "anti-human" sounds, these aliens are clearly "anti-human." Will asks Smith what the metallic ball is? It disappears. It would seem Smith and Will have arrived. Smith pushes Will toward the spacecraft and tells him to be brave. Clearly bravery is something with which Smith is in terribly short supply or flat out empty. Smith is pleased his plan is coming together, but he is zapped just the same. The aliens indicate Will’s brain is the perfect size, but has not been tested and they may need both brains. Oh, boy there goes the Smith plan. Smith convinces them to take off his neck harness, but he remains outside their ship. Will is now on board the vessel. He is surrounded by Christmas tree tinsel. It is the kind we used to decorate our tree when I was a young boy. This show spares no expense with its effects and set decoration department. That's a joke, but in all seriousness the creators behind the show really did a splendid job with the look of the series back in the day. It's simple, but foreign and creepy enough to sell it. Inside the alien vessel it’s like the Dr. Who Tardis in there. It is much bigger inside than the outside would have you believe. Of course, this is the fifth dimension where size does not matter. The aliens note Will’s moral fiber is admirable. The aliens need Will’s “youth,” “freshness,” and “curiosity.” Will ensures he’s none of those things. I would too. Good call Will. The Robinsons find Smith who tells them “they’ve got Will.” John knows Smith is a slimy snake in the grass and wants to know why the Robot’s brain wasn’t offered to the alien creatures. Well, maybe because Robot doesn't really have a brain, but I think I know what the professor means. John, Maureen and Smith, with Robot in tow, look for Will in the Chariot. Then a few moments later Don comes along in the jet pack. This is a full on kids’ episode as fas the excitement factor goes. The foursome has found the spaceship. Robot alerts the group that the craft is surrounded by a forcefield in the fifth dimension that is “mathematically impossible.” John wants Robot to intervene and try to stop them. This is clearly an advanced group. Robot fires electrical charges at the ship and they bounce back and disable Robot. Will speaks to his family and tells them not to worry everything will be fine thanks to Dr. Smith. How Smith gets away with his shit week after week is a major miracle. He's like the ultimate escape artist. The aliens demand Will do their bidding, but he is crying and the tears flow. The teardrops are affecting the consoles of the alien craft. Love, once again, saves the day for Will. The aliens call it a form of “madness.” He is considered useless by one of the aliens and will be released against the wishes of the other alien. Will is left behind after the ship vanishes in an explosion. Will basically saves Dr. Smith by saying their plan worked. Smith runs off. The family oddly laughs about the fact the aliens wanted to take his brain. Classic Lines: Don: "So that's the monster? Smith: "Now that doesn't look very monstrous does it?" Don: "Neither do you," (Nice one Don!) Background Information *When the sparks start to fly out of the alien spaceship's electrical components at the end of the episode, it becomes apparent that the alien spaceship does not have any fuses or circuit breakers in it. Just like the Jupiter 2. *It is possible that this episode may have been used to "kill off" Dr. Smith had the decision not been made to keep him as a permanent cast member. *The aliens seen here are based upon the bubble-headed alien seen in the last moments in the Pilot episode. They have been modified to have no mouths and wear long flowing robes, greatly improving their sinister appearance. *This episode marks the first time Dr Smith attempts to save his own life by trading that of a Robinson (usually Will or Penny). *When Smith suggests he get computers from the Jupiter 2 for the aliens, they dismiss the use of such "primitive toys" as "a million times a million of them" would still not meet their needs. The Jupiter 2's computers are Burroughs B205s, which could execute operations at kilohertz frequencies. Current microprocessors of course operate at gigahertz frequencies or about a million times faster than the B205. *Don flies the Jetpack in this episode. He will do it again in "The Raft". *The aliens' spaceship is perhaps the most original design of the series. Apparently lacking rocket motors or other conventional means of propulsion it looks truly non-human. Perhaps that's why it was not reused in the series as so many other props and models were. *During the final scene, as the Robot is seen walking among the rocks near the alien spaceship, Bob May's legs can be seen sticking out of the bottom of the Robot's costume. *This epsiode is the first in which Smith remarks "The pain, the pain!" *Maureen Robinson drives the chariot in this episode. *In one scene with Will and Dr. Smith, there are stalagmites among the large rocks in a desert like setting. Normally associated with dissolved limestone in a cave or lava tube formation in a volcano here on Earth. With Will being a geologist, you would think perhaps he would have been curious about that. *When Doctor Smith first meets the aliens he is carrying a laser as a sidearm. If the Robinsons have so little trust in Smith, why have they allowed him to have a gun? *Didn’t Smith realize that the Robinsons would kill him when they found out he had given their son to hostile aliens? *If the aliens exist in a fifth dimension “where size has no meaning,” why did they insist on having a smaller person to run their computer? *In this episode, the Robot claims that he can read minds! Gallery: Invaders1.jpg Invaders2.jpg Invaders3.jpg Invaders4.jpg Invaders5.jpg Invaders6.jpg Invaders7.jpg Invaders8.jpg Invaders9.jpg Category:Episodes Category:Episodes in Season One